Protect giraffes from wildlife trade
The number of giraffes in Africa has plunged by 36 to 40% in only three decades, mainly due to habitat loss, human conflicts, and poaching (1). The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List recently listed giraffes as Vulnerable to becoming endangered (1). Out of nine recognized giraffe subspecies, four are decreasing (1). […]
Three-gene PCR and high-resolution melting analysis for differentiating vertebrate species mitochondrial DNA for biodiversity research and complementing forensic surveillance
Reliable molecular identification of vertebrate species from morphologically unidentifiable tissue is critical for the prosecution of illegally-traded wildlife products, conservation-based biodiversity research, and identification of blood-meal hosts of hematophagous invertebrates. However, forensic identification of vertebrate tissue relies on sequencing of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) ‘barcode’ gene, which remains costly for purposes of screening […]
Forensic species identification of elephant (Elephantidae) and giraffe (Giraffidae) tail hair using light microscopy
Here we present methods for distinguishing tail hairs of African elephants (Loxodonta africana), Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) and giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis) from forensic contexts. Such hairs are commonly used to manufacture jewelry artifacts that are often sold illegally in the international wildlife trade. Tail hairs from these three species are easily confused macroscopically, and morphological […]